Two Titans Named Finalists for Daniels Scholarship

Four years of college tuition is a daunting challenge for most post-secondary-bound students and their families.  Coal Ridge High School seniors Nevaeh Williams and Sergio Jaquez have an opportunity to lighten the load. Both are finalists for the prestigious Daniels Fund Scholarship.

Every year, Daniels Scholars are selected from the four-state region of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. The opportunity offers a four-year college scholarship to support awardees to attend any accredited nonprofit college or university in the United States.  The process of becoming a Daniels Scholar is challenging including a detailed application process with five essays, and an in-person panel interview. 

For Nevaeh and Sergio, becoming a Daniels Scholar would support their journey of service.

Nevaeh Williams

“I want to go to college so I can go teach English overseas, or work with refugees or sex-trafficked people," she explained. "i just want to do something that is helping people who have been through crises and stuff like that.”

Neveah's family was on a mission to Uganda when she was younger. The four-years spent in the African country definitely impacted her career choice.

“That was probably a big part of wanting to go overseas,” she explained. “Uganda has a very different culture. It was a lot more impoverished than here, and more dangerous, but everybody worked together and they had that culture of living in community and helping each other. Because that was what my parents did, it is just something that I've been interested in.”

Nevaeh is an Advanced Placement student and has been active in a variety of clubs including Knowledge Bowl, National Honor Society and FCA. She hopes to attend George Fox University in Oregon where she was accepted into the honors program and is grateful to the Coal Ridge staff for helping her succeed.

“I really appreciate (the teachers)  because I feel like they're like invested in me more than just academically.  I think they care about my life outside of school and they want to see me succeed. They do whatever they can to help me, and I just really appreciate that.”

Sergio Jaquez

Very few middle school students know where Crimea is, or wonder about the value of a Ukrainian peninsula to another country. For Sergio Jaquez, that world event triggered an interest in world affairs that he would like to parlay into a career.

“I remember hearing about it in our social studies class through our investigation into current events. I'm fascinated with history, but I'm even more fascinated with current events because I love seeing how things unfold,” he explained. “ I just remember thinking to myself, ‘I would love to see where this is going in the future and how this is going to be deescalated. I'd love to see the path that this holds." 

Sergio plans on attending the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at Denver University to pursue a career in the State Department.

“I have a genuine concern for serving my country and I want to help keep my country safe. I know it seems like we're living in turbulent times right now, but I feel like if everyone were to pitch in one way or another, then we can help keep that safety that we have now. I would like to be part of the work that helps keep our country safe.”

Sergio is CRHS Student Body Vice President, a track and cross country athlete, and National Honor Society member who is also on the Advance Placement track who shares in the gratitude for the Titan staff. 

“The staff and the teachers here, are very open to helping you and if you may need something inside or outside of school. I just think that's a very admirable quality in teachers,” he enthused.”I'm blessed to be given this opportunity and I'm excited to see what the future holds.“

Both Nevaeh and Sergio have an intense interview process to complete prior to notification in March.

The Daniels Fund, established by cable television pioneer Bill Daniels, is a private charitable foundation dedicated to making life better for the people of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming through its grants program, scholarship program, and ethics initiative. Visit DanielsFund.org to learn more.